Avatar: Bending the Universe - Book 1: Earth
by Ram Merrush
Summary: A story that me and my two friends, Zup and Red did. It takes place in our world. Earth, 2012 The story centers around three young men as they begin to develop these odd powers, the people they meet, and the way their lives change. Can they survive as their world begins to rip apart at the seams? Can they resist the temptation of power? Who, or what is the Avatar?
1. Chapter 1

AVATAR: BENDING THE UNIVERSE

CHAPTER ONE: ORIGINS

Date: June 25, 2012

==================== MILES J. NOVAK =======================

"Hey, Travis! Hand me that memory card. The green one," said Miles, flicking his hand in the direction of a pile of PS1 memory cards. "It's got my Tekken 3 save file on it."

"This one?"

Miles nodded. "Yeah that one."

The two best friends set up the PS1 and got to playing Tekken 3. Miles was clearly the better player, but Travis was able to hold his own to allow for friendly competition. At the end, however, Miles came out the victor once again.

"Damn, dude," said Travis, taking a sip of his Mountain Dew. "Kicked my ass. When's the last time you played it?"

Miles shrugged, turning off the game console. "Eh, I dunno. Maybe five or six months."

"I haven't played it for like a year."

"Excuses."

"Hey you wanna drive down to the beach? Your house is way too hot."

"And, uh..." started Miles, a bewildered look on his face. "You wanna go to the beach to escape the heat?"

Travis suddenly caught the foolishness of his reasoning. "That's not what I meant, smartass. We could go cool off swimming."

"I know, I know. Alright, sounds good."

"Maybe there'll be some hotties."

"Dude, this is Cali. There are always hotties on the beach," Miles replied, smiling.

And they were right. The sand was lined with beautiful young women in swimsuits, along with a few unsightly, hairy men in their forties. Nevertheless, the sight was candy to the two young men as they made their way to the ocean, taking in the girls and the ocean air.

Hours passed as they surfed and even met a few girls to chat with. The girls invited them to a bonfire at the other end of the beach later that night. Miles and Travis both agreed to go.

The party was easy to spot, especially in the night. The fire in the middle glowed bright and it's warmth spread outward, enveloping all who needed it in the cold darkness. About a dozen people were already there, from the cute girls they had met to a few athletic-looking guys. Everyone was eating, laughing, and having a good time.

"Looks fun," said Travis, the first to make his way for the fire. Miles was a bit more reluctant, but at the beckoning of a well-endowed redhead, he followed suit and entered the camp.

A few more hours went by as Miles enjoyed the party. He had managed to make a few friends, and got the red headed girl's number. It was nearing midnight when they finally decided it was time to head home.

"Hey, Miles!" called one of the other boys; a peer from his Chemistry class.

"What?"

The boy was holding a beach ball in his hands. "Before you guys go, I wanna show you this. I'm gonna throw this in the air, do a backflip, and catch it in between my ankles!"

Travis turned to Miles, nodding. "I saw him do it when my brother and I came here last week. It's pretty badass."

Miles nodded. It wouldn't hurt to see it.

The boy smiled and motioned for those nearby to back up. He took a deep breath, and launched the ball into the air as high as he could. He waited for a few seconds, then started his backflip. It looked as if he was actually going to catch it...

But he made a miscalculation in his flip. The ball connected with his ankles and flew straight at the logs of the fire, sending one of them spinning into the air, straight at Miles.

It was too sudden for him to dodge, but in reflex, Miles put his hands in front of his face. The log itself didn't connect with his hands, but the edge of the flame did.

As the fire licked at his hand, he twisted around in a half circle, swinging his arm like a heavy punch with a flat hand. The fire from the log seemed to flow in his hands, and soared in the direction he swung for a good seven feet before dying out.

Miles...hadn't felt a thing...

What the hell did I just do?

==================== WARREN D. FARRIS =======================

"Hey Warren!" Warren turned to see Josh, his boss running toward him.

"Yeah Josh?" Warren knew he was about to get saddled with even more work. "Do you need something?"

"Can you run this letter over to Carey," Josh began, handing an envelope to his employee. "And then I need you to wash the hippos."

Warren took the envelope and smiled, like a good employee. "Of course, sir." he started heading for the main Zoo office in search of Carey. He opened the door and almost collided with the very person he was looking for. "Oh sorry, Carey," he stammered.

"No, problem," she assured. "Just be more careful next time."

She started to walk around Warren when he remembered why he was there. "Wait, I have a letter for you, from Josh."

"Oh god that little twerp," she murmured under her breath. "What is it this time?" She swiped the letter and ripped it open. "God this is unbelieveable! That little- Where is he?" Ram pointed toward the reptile house, where he had came from. "Thank you," she said before marching there in a huff.

"Hmm, poor guy," Warren said to himself "I'd hate to be in his shoes. Now, time for hippo duty."

He walked through the penguin tunnel, full of small children and their parents pointing and laughing at the silly penguins. Warren stopped in front of a vacant window and looked through. He could see a small baby emperor penguin sitting alone in a small crater made out of fake ice. "Hey little guy," He called as he tapped on the gas, knowing he wouldn't be heard. "You just get to sit there all day, not a care in the world, no money problems, no crazy bosses..." Warren let out a laugh loud enough that those closest to him turned their heads in his direction. "I can't believe I'm talking to a penguin about my problems." Warren looked around and realized he had made a little scene. "Sorry, Ummm... Penguin needed a pep talk." He stammered out quickly, and rushed for the exit.

Once outside Warren hurried with his head down toward the Hippo Hut, he knew people must've been looking at the weird kid running toward the hippos but he didn't really care what some random people thought. He opened the employees only door and saw it empty so he let himself in and locked the door behind him. "Ahh, privacy, finally," he said thankful to be alone.

He sat down in the single chair in the room and began to relax before he was interrupted by a loud roar of a dirty hippo. "Bwaroararahuah!" The unsettling sound shot Warren out of his seat and propelled him toward the water tap.

"Okay, okay calm down, big guy," Warren quickly spun the wheel until he hit the max level, he pulled the hose the hose toward him and was welcomed with a face full of water. Ah crap, he thought as he closed his eyes and raised his right hand to protect his face from the flow.

"Bwagronakderp!" The next thing Warren knows, there's a wet hippo shouting for more water, and a hose squirting water on at the other side of the room. He patted all over his body looking for some moisture but to no avail.

What just happened?

Warren left the hut, and headed to the main office. Carey was still gone so he left her a note, telling her that he was heading home early. He got into his car and put his head on the wheel. What happened in there? Warren couldn't wrap his head around it. One second he was about to get wet, and the next the hippo was wet instead. He shook his head and turned the ignition on. I can worry after I get home.

Warren closed his front door behind him and locked it. "Hey there monster," he said, kissing his four year old, passed out sister on the forehead. Warren dropped off the bag full of his work stuff into his room, then headed to the bathroom. He knelt over the sink, and looked at his reflection in the mirror. "You're not going crazy, you're not going crazy!" He practically shouted.

He turned the sink on and splashed some water in his face. "Oh great now I'm getting wet," he said with a slight laugh. "But, when I want to wash a hippo..." That gave Warren an idea. Maybe it was one of those powers of positive thinking things. He wanted to wash a hippo so it happened.

Warren looked down and saw his sister's new water pistol. "Perfect!" He picked it up and filled it to the brim in the sink. Then, he walked into the living room and focused on his sister sleeping on the couch.

I want to squirt Becky, I want to squirt Becky. Warren put the pistol to his head and pulled the trigger. "Ahhh, DAMN that's hot!" He screamed, waking Becky.

"War War?" Becky murmured, sleepy eyed.

"Yeah, it's me hun, go back to sleep." Warren laid her back down and tucked her in.

"Alright." Just like that she was out.

Warren walked back to his room and collapsed onto his bed. "What happened with that hippo?" He just couldn't forget about something like that, it was one of those things that you hear about and immediately assume is fake. "Maybe I am just going crazy."

Out of boredom Warren started shooting his door from, his bed across the room. He was a good shot, each time hitting the imaginary bullseye he had painted on the door. He shot again and again until the spray of water began to dissipate to mere dripping. "Well, now I'm bored again."

Warren threw the gun at the door, without thinking about how heavy the gun was, or how fragile the doors in his apartment were. "Oh Fu-" Warren shouted as the gun left his hands. He reached his hand toward the projectile, as if he could catch the gun before it broke the door. But, he looked at the door the water dripping down the fake wood paneling began to pool together and caught the gun before it impacted with the door.

"Holy shit." He said breathless. Then the pool of water collapsed to the ground, taking the gun with it.

==================== JORGE A. REYES =======================

"Faster, mijo!"

"I'm running coach, this is my limit!"

"It's not enough! Faster!"

Jorge pushed his legs to their max but they wouldn't go any faster.

"C'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon C'MOOONNNNN!"

"You got this!"

"A bit faster and you can break the record for the fastest guy in school!"

Hearing his true friends cheering him on, he gained a little hope. Then he noticed a cute girl staring at him from behind the gates; which made him feel embarrassed because he started to feel slow.

He hated feeling slow. This alone gave Jorge what strength he needed to successfully break his limit.

"Yes! You got this bro!"

Jorge ran faster and faster. A bit too fast, actually. He felt as if he could fly with the speed he was going. It took him 5 minutes to sprint around the soccer field twice; thus making jorge the new record holder. At the stop he was forced to jump up and plant his feet. He was perfectly still, but the moment Jorge had just experienced forced him to keep moving until finally he reached the gate where the girl was. To avoid crashing into the gate, Jorge gave his legs one last strain before they failed him. This last amount of force send him flying past the gate and into a tree.

"Ouch! ...Ugh... I'm done for today... Ah ah."

Jorge let out a big sneeze and all the leaves from the direction he faced flew away leaving empty branches on part of a nearby tree. Jorge failed to notice it, though, because his legs were still in pain..

"Whoa are you okay, dude?" said a random student passing by.

"What? Oh...yeah I'm fine." said Jorge.

"Mom! I'm gonna go outside to practice!"

His mother walked into the room with a puzzled look.

"But it's raining. Don't tell me you recovered already? It's only been about four hours."

Jorge looked at his mother, visibly annoyed.

"Soccer isn't limited to when it rains. You know that."

Despite her puzzled look, she allowed Jorge to go outside. Thunder could be heard rolling outside but Jorge seemed unfazed.

~ ~ ~ 30 minutes later Jorge was outside under the pouring rain, practicing some soccer drills.

"Number 9 has the ball... He dribbles, he jumps, AND..."

Jorge prepared to kick the ball towards a tree with all his might. A lightning bolt suddenly struck the tree.

It didn't stop him from going through with the kick.

The ball flew with so much speed it appeared as if wind started to form around it, like a horizontal tornado. As Jorge watched in amazement, the ball struck the tree with such a might that it ricocheted back to him, sending him to the ground, almost knocking him unconscious.

The rain poured harder as he muttered, "What the hell..."

He fainted shortly after.

==================== MILES J. NOVAK =======================

"Okay, dude, what the hell was that?" Travis asked, quickly snapping in his seatbelt and turning on the car.

"I...I dunno. It just sort of...happened!" Miles replied, breathing heavily in a mixture of panic and thrill. He couldn't help but look at his hand every few seconds. It wasn't blackened at all, or even red from burns. It was...just fine.

"You're alright, though?" Travis said, starting to reverse the car. "It didn't burn or anything?"

"Nope. I didn't feel anything except a little warmth."

"Damn," said Travis, chuckling a bit. "That was much cooler than catching a beach ball!"

Miles grinned. "Yeah I guess. Hey, maybe it's just like what those fire jugglers do. Like a lucky fluke?"

"That's probably it."

"Yeah..." He studied his hand again.

When he woke up late in the morning, he had to rub his red eyes to relieve some of the irritation. He hadn't been able to get much sleep; his mind was still stuck on what he had done. Could it really have been a big fluke? Maybe the fire caught his sleeve and the momentum of his swing flung it off? Miles still didn't have any answers.

"Miles!" his dad called from downstairs. He groaned in annoyance and stretched his arms, yawning.

"I'll be down there!"

His feet slammed against each step of the stairs, heavy with his summer laziness. His dad was on the phone, nodding and speaking into it, but Miles couldn't hear what he was saying. He finally hung up the phone.

"That was Travis's mom. She told me to tell you that Travis is waiting at the beach."

"Um...alright." Miles made his way to his car, puzzled. If Travis wanted to hang out, why didn't he just call him with his phone? Did he have to tell his mom to do it?

Was something wrong?

Miles slowly walked down the sandy beaches of California, looking around the crowded place for his friend. He finally located him near where the fire had been, as he could still see the charred logs sitting in a circle. "Hey, Travis! What's up?"

Travis had his back to Miles, but he did indeed hear him. He beckoned to Miles with his left hand, never showing his front.

"Uh, dude, is something wrong?" asked Miles, slowly stepping to his friend.

Travis shook his head, and he was actually...laughing. "Oh my God, you gotta see this!"

As Miles moved to the side to see what Travis was doing, his eyes widened. Travis moved his hand up and down, slowly, and with each pull upward, a small pillar of sand lifted up towards it. It fell back into the beach ground as his hand lowered.

"W-what are you doing? Is that like some kinda magic trick?"

"No, no! I just started doing this with my hand and the sand started moving! Look, I can do it over here, too!" He demonstrated by moving a few feet over, repeating the pattern. He started to move his hand up and down, and once again, the sand started to move with it.

"Holy shit, man! Do...do you think this has anything to do with what I did last night? With the log?"

Travis shrugged, moving to his feet. "That's what I wanted to test out. I brought my dad's lighter. Catch."

The lighter landed in Miles's waiting hands. "Oh, by the way. Why'd your mom call my house and not you yourself?"

"Oh," said Travis, scratching the back of his head. "When I was, uh, playing in the sand... I dropped it in and buried it. Can't find it anymore. So I sent my sister home to tell my mom to call you."

"Spazz," muttered Miles. He held the lighter before him, taking in a deep breath. "This better not burn my fingers off."

"I actually hope you can do cool stuff with it."

"That'd be dope." He flicked the lighter wheel a few times until he finally managed to get a small flame. He slowly moved his right hand over the fire, hesitant to touch it. Finally, he swiped it across the flame.

The fire was floating just above his palm, away from the lighter.

"Holy shit."

Miles started to carefully move his hand left and right, turning it upside down too. The flame thinned as he moved, following his palm like a stray dog and a child who recently fed it. It never once burned him, and it actually felt...comforting.

"This is too crazy," Miles said, admiring the flame.

"Here!" Travis said, lifting a small pillar of sand. "Throw it at this."

Miles shrugged, and reared his hand back like a baseball pitch. He threw the flame as hard as he could, and watched it dash forward, taking the shape of a ball with a small tail. It struck the pillar, and died, causing the sand to return to flat ground as it did.

A smile appeared on his face. "This is too awesome..."

==================== WARREN D. FARRIS =======================

Warren walked to the puddle and picked up the gun. "That settles it," he started. "I'm going crazy." He put the gun in his pocket and laid back down on his bed. "Maybe if I go to sleep everything will be alright in the morning."

Warren closed his eyes and slowly settled into sleep.

"Wake up, Wake up, Wake up!" Becky jumped on to her brother and started pulling on his hair. "Wake up, silly!"

"Aggh, get off," Warren picked up the four year old girl and threw her to the other side of the bed. She giggled as Warren proceeded to tickle her squirming figure. "Had enough?"

"I give up!" The little girl squealed. Warren released her from his tickles of death and got out of bed. "Want breakfast?"

He looked at his sister, and ruffled her hair. "I'm good, is mom still home?"

"Nah, she left for work early." She ran out of the room, and a moment later screamed.

Shocked, Warren ran out of the room, into the kitchen. "What?"

"Milk!" The little girl cried out with a smile. "I love milk."

Warren exhaled in relief. "Then pour yourself a glass, I have to go change my clothes." He walked back to his room and started changing his clothes, while the sounds of his sister struggling with the milk sounded in the background. "Be careful," he shouted through the paper thin walls.

When Warren got to his pants he felt the gun in his pocket, he took it out and inspected it. Did that really happen? He turned to the front of the door and looked for any sign of moisture. There was nothing, not even a glistening to prove there had ever been a pool of water there.

"Knew it," he said, as he got back to changing. "I'm crazy."

Warren walked out of his room, in fresh clothes, and into the kitchen. "I knew you'd make a mess," he grabbed a napkin and began dabbing at his milk covered sister. She merely smiled, proud of her work, as her brother cleaned up her mess.

"You should've helped." She picked up a bright blue cup and sipped. "Mmmm Milk."

"At least you got your milk." Warren picked up the cup in one hand and his sister in the other and walked to the living room. "Hey, I'm going to head out early," he said as he sat her down on the couch, and handed her her cup. "Your sitter will be here in an hour to watch you. Do you think you can handle the house for that long?"

Becky took a long sip of her milk and stared at her brother. "Sure," she said after a moment. "Just give me a refill." She smiled and handed him her now empty cup.

Warren laughed and took the cup. "Fine, Monster," he walked to the kitchen and grabbed the, now almost empty, milk jug and began pouring. He could hear the TV as Becky grabbed the remote and began switching through channels. "Just pick one and stick to it," he said, turning his head to look behind him.

"Fine," she pouted. "Hmmm, Nick or Disney?"

"I don't know... Disney," he said remembering how much he had loved that mouse.

"Okay, where's my milk?"

"Oh crap!" Warren had forgotten about the milk and was sure the cup had overflown. He turned his head back and was surprised to see the milk right at the top of the glass. It wasn't changing at all, not even a ripple moved across the milk from where he was pouring from the jug.

Warren swallowed the lump in his throat and placed the jug back on the counter. "Hey, Becks, your milk is on the counter. I'll be home soon." Warren rushed out the door, without waiting for his sister's response.

Before he knew it Warren was back at the zoo, standing in front of the duck pond. If this doesn't work I'll look like an idiot... He walked up to the fence separating the people from the ducks, … If it does I'll look crazy. He gripped the fence, knowing he'd already made up his mind. … Let's do this.

He, quickly, reached over the fence and dipped his hand into the pond. Cupping his hand, he brought up his face. Looking around, he was assured that no one had noticed what he had done, in fact there didn't seem to be anyone around at all.

His sudden privacy making him a bit bolder, he threw the water into the air and focused on keeping it up. "Holy crap," above him rotated a small ball of water, small bubbles of air could be seen through the outside layer of liquid. It slowly floated down to Warren's eye level, where he held it there with both hands, he watched as a the orb continued to move around and around, staying perfectly spherical.

"Warren?" Came a voice from behind him. The water collapsed through his fingers and spread out to the floor. He put his wet hands into his pockets and turned around to see Carey walking toward him. "I thought you were sick."

"Ummm, I am," Warren was panicked, he didn't know how to explain this to his boss. "I just had to come back to get," he grabbed the first object he could get a hold of in his pocket and pulled it out. "This water pistol..."

Carey put her hands on her hips. "You came back for a water pistol?"

"Yep," Warren started to back away from his boss, toward the exit. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to get going." He turned around and ran for the exit, too freaked out to worry about what she'd think, and too excited to get home and try it again.

==================== JORGE A. REYES =======================

"Jorge, wake up!"

"M-mom?"

Jorge's mother gave a sigh of relief.

"What... happened?" Jorge asked with much confusion. He tried to get up but was stopped by a doctor pressing his hand against his shoulder.

"Well," his mother began, "I heard the thunder boom in the backyard. I smelled something burning, so I ran outside. Looked like lightning hit that tree, and when I found you passed out, I had to call a doctor... What happened back there?"

"All I remember was kicking my ball towards the tree after the lightning hit it. Then it ricocheted, hittin' me in the head..." Jorge explained

The doctor took a few notes and finally came to a conclusion, he looked up to explain his results. "Well Mr. Reyes, it's obvious you took a real hit; are you sure it was a ball that hit you? This injury seems a bit too much to b-"

"ARE YOU CALLING ME A LIAR?!" Jorge yelled immediately after the doctor's implication with his right eyebrow raised.

"JORGE ALEXIS REYES! WHERE ARE YOUR MANNERS?!" his mother yelled in response.

"I LEFT THEM BEHIND, 5 SECONDS AGO! AROUND THE SAME TIME HE CALLED ME A LIAR!" Jorge screamed back.

Jorge admitted he was a bit more irritable than usual; but he had his reasons.

"Uhh" interrupted the doctor "It's fine. Really. Here...just a prescription for antibiotics. That ball was a little hot when it hit you; it burned your core Nothing serious, but you'll need to rest to recover from those injuries."

"Can I ask what the 'other' injuries are?" asked Jorge's mother, now concerned more than ever.

"Well, he has a slight head damage and will probably fall much more easily. That means-"

Jorge interrupted yet again "No..."

"Excuse me?" asked the doctor, probably a little offended that his suggestion was just pushed aside by a 17-year-old.

"NO!" Jorge proceeded to get up despite his mother trying to hold him down. "I have a semi-finals match and I'm the captain of the team! Nothing's gonna stop me from leading my team to victory!"

The room filled with silence for a while. Jorge refused to move from where he stood.

"Fine... rest and nothing but warm massage therapy on your head, core, and legs. Starting today," the doctor said, finally breaking the silence.

"Thank you doctor..."

Before long it was midnight, and as soon as he heard his mother start to snore, Jorge made his way to the roof of the building. Tired he sat to look at the moon and the buildings of Brooklyn. He wanted to see stars, but with all the light pollution and what not in new york, it wasn't going to happen.

"What was that steroided crap I did?"

Jorge started to push his palm outwards and kick the air.

"Could've sworn I blew air out of my foot when I kicked that ball. Maybe the wind just blew while I kicked... no that wind was directly behind my ball... Whatever the hell that was; no it wasn't anything... too much protein in my diet and that caused me to over do it... need to lay off those walnuts and chicken. From now on I'm giving my meats to Moose; dog will eat anything I give him."

Jorge started to breathe in and out to calm down and rethink the events that happened. He kept doing this for awhile until he got up to do the drills he did in the fields.

"That girl... who was she? She sure was cute. Definitely didn't attend Gramercy Arts..."

Jorge pondered that thought. He wanted to regain control of his breathing. He seemed to be getting a habit where he held his breath when he worked out, causing him to lose energy more quickly.

Jorge inhaled in and out.

It might have been him but he felt like his breaths were getting louder despite him not making any more effort than what he usually does for inhaling. By the time Jorge noticed, he opened his eyes to find a small pile of leaves around where he was sitting.

"Was... this here before? Dah...I'm just tired..."

Jorge made his way downstairs then went straight to bed. He just wanted this weird day to end.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO: CATCHING ATTENTION

Date: July 4, 2012

==================== WARREN D. FARRIS ======================= "Warren, door!" his mother screamed from the living room.

"I know mom," He screwed the cap of his water bottle on and got off his bed. Since that day at the zoo he had been going everywhere with his water bottle, he had learned a few tricks that it came in handy for. "Do you know who it is?" He asked as he opened his door.

"Probably Erik," Warren's mother guessed. "Or maybe that Hollives boy." Warren opened the front door and sure enough his mother had guessed right the first time.

"Hey Farris, you wanted to hang out?" Erik asked, standing patiently outside the door.

"Mom, me and Erik are gonna go hang out at the park!" Warren called as he closed the door behind him. He turned to Erik and slapped him on the back. "Hey, what took you so long? I sent you that text to get over here like five days ago."

"Yeah sorry, I got my phone taken away," he started. "I was caught texting Isabelle at around two am."

"Oh, yeah, how's it going with you two anyway?" Warren asked, hoping his best friend had smartened up and dumped the evil little pixie he'd been dating.

"She dumped me."

"Oh," Warren started. "Well I wasn't expecting that." He looked over at his friend, clearly depressed about his recent break up, and came up with an idea. "Hey, at least you won't have to bend over to kiss her anymore." With a great laugh, Warren clapped his arm over Erik's slumped shoulders.

"I'll miss doing that..." He said, in a "God take me now" kind of voice.

Warren rolled his eyes and shook his depressing friend. "Come on, I told you to come over to show you something awesome," he lifted the water bottle he had in his hand. "Come on, let's go, you'll forget all about her. Trust me."

At the park the two boys immediately made their way to the swings. "I love living next to the park," declared Warren.

"So what's this thing that's supposed to make me forget about the love of my life?" Erik whimpered, as he started to swing half-heartedly.

Warren unscrewed the cap to his bottle. "You ready?"

"For what?" Erik asked, ready to be disappointed. "Are you just going to chug that whole bottle, because honestly, I think I've seen it done."

"Just watch," Warren had been practicing since his trick at the zoo. He had been able to push and pull water by touch, he had been able to shape water into different geometrical figures, and he could even increase the density of water making it almost solid if he focused enough.

Today he thought he would show Erik a little shape forming. He put a finger into the water bottle and swirled it around. "Oh please don't tell me you're giving me a wet willy." Erik moaned. "Dude, that's low."

"Shut up and watch," Warren said through clenched teeth, trying to keep his focus. He pulled out his finger, and a cord of water followed. Like a snake, it slithered out of the bottle, following Warren's dancing finger. He looked at his friends flabbergasted face and smiled. "I'm not done yet," Warren began to rotate his finger in concentric and as the water followed, it eventually coiled into a clear spinning ball. He put his finger under it and started miming spinning it like a basket ball. "So is she still on your mind?"

"Is who on my mind now?" Erik swung himself out of his seat and began inspecting the ball. "That's just impossible, what is it Farris, like a trick with gas?"

"Nope, I can just do it." Warren stood still as Erik began walking around him, as if a different angle would reveal the invisible string that would explain everything. "You don't believe me?"

"Of course I don't believe you!" he practically screamed

"So nothing weird, like this, has been happening to you?" Warren had been hoping that he wasn't the only one experiencing this kind of weird stuff. He was hoping he wasn't the only weird, water guy in the world.

"I wish, that's so awesome." Erik said in awe.

Well at least Erik doesn't think I'm weird, he just thinks I'm awesome.

Erik reached a finger out toward the orb of water. "I wonder what would happen if I-" he never got to finish that sentence, because as his finger touched the surface of the water, the orb exploded right in his face.

"Well, now you know," Warren said, smothering a laugh.

==================== MILES J. NOVAK ======================= Miles sat in his room, tossing a small fireball back and forth between his hands, mesmerized by the way the flames moved as he did so. Ever since he learned he could move small fires, he bought himself a lighter and used the activity to relieve stress and pass the time. He still hadn't shown his parents yet, though.

He and Travis drove down to the beach at every opportunity they had so that Travis could demonstrate his sand abilities. In about a week, he had learned to create his own spheres of sand, and move it slowly for short distances, though sand poured from the bottom. Miles had learned to move the fireball all around his body without feeling any pain, and he could even pull at the flames of a fire to stretch it out a bit. Unfortunately, it returned to its original burning state as soon as he let go.

As the Fourth of July rolled around, Miles couldn't help but feel a little excited. He had always liked fireworks, and had been wondering if he could use his abilities to control them as well as ordinary flames.

"Miles, you ready?" called his father from downstairs. He was supposed to be getting ready to head to the nearby park with his parents in order to celebrate Independence Day. He responded with "Yeah, I'll be down!" He walked over to a bowl of water he had set up specifically for extinguishing his flames. He tossed the fireball up and down in his hand, admiring its movements once again before letting it fall and extinguish in the bowl. He closed the lighter and put it in his pocket, along with his iPhone and wallet. He stepped into his tennis shoes and went downstairs.

The park was crowded by the time the Novak family got to the parking lot, and people were scattered all over the vast yard. Many families had set up lawn chairs and picnics to eat while enjoying the fireworks. Miles and his family found a spot and set their chairs and coolers down. After that was done, Miles asked, "hey can I go look for Travis? We were gonna hang out when we both got here."

"Yeah, go ahead," said his dad, opening a bottle of beer. "You got your phone, right?"

Miles nodded, already on his way towards their designated meeting point. It was a bit of a wait, but Travis finally arrived, carrying a bucket full of sand.

"There's an empty corner of the park about a mile that way. C'mon, nobody's gonna be there; can't see the fireworks."

"Alright, check this out," said Miles, holding the lighter flame in his hand. "Gimme another light with yours."

Travis did as he was asked, an impressed and curious look on his face. Miles grabbed the fire in his empty left hand, and started to slowly juggle the fireballs, smiling.

"This is awesome."

Not wanting to be outdone by his friend, Travis put his hands over the bucket and lifted the sand from it, holding his own sphere, bigger than either fireball. "Wow, this is bigger than I thought it was gonna be."

The two had fun playing with their elements, completely isolated from the festivities and cheers not too far from them.

"Hey, Travis," said Miles, tossing his fireballs into the water, destroying them with a hiss of steam. "You think I could do stuff with fireworks, too?"

Travis released the ball of sand, dusting his hands off against each other. "Hmm...never thought about it really. Well, I don't have any fireworks on me, and all the stores nearby are either closed or sold out. We could go swipe them from someone."

Miles smiled. "Stealing? You sure you're sneaky enough to pull that off?"

Travis shrugged, hiding his bucket of sand behind some bushes, grunting at its weight. "Well, you wanna test your abilities out on 'em, or not?"

Miles already started to head towards the park by the time Travis finished talking. "Let's try it out..."

==================== JORGE A. REYES ======================= "Alright, class dismissed!"

Almost immediately, students starts to group up. It wasn't long before Jorge found his usual group.

"Yo Jorge!" one of the group members began to shout. He was short and brown skinned, but more muscular than most of the other group members.

"Yo headley, was good mah Puppy?" Jorge exclaimed while tapping his friends.

"Not much, we were just headed to gym lunch to play dodgeball." A smile grew while he said this; he already knew what was coming next.

"Dodgeball?! I'm in!" Jorge replied. He loved dodgeball just as much as he loved soccer.

"Why? You suck man! Your fancy footwork doesn't work in a dodgeball court."

Jorge couldn't deny this. He loved dodgeball but what good is a soccer player in a dodgeball game? All he really did was dodge and weave, but he was very accurate when he actually threw a ball. The only problem was that he had no force, which was why Jorge was sure this argument wasn't gonna go his way.

"Puppy, hush, at least I got aim! Your shots hit the wall more than anybody else!"

"Please, Puppy, at least my hits hurt. Your shots feel like somebody threw a ball of air at me."

Jorge grew pissed since he expected that; he always expected that point whenever dodgeball is mentioned. "Please, at least I don't get out within the first 30 seconds." A smirk grew on his face as he knew this argument was his.

"Which reminds me, you suck at basketball too." Devon responded.

Jorge knew what Devon was doing. Jorge always tried to duck and dive when things don't go his way.

Jorge let out a hearty laugh. "Ha, face it, Puppy, we both suck!"

"Nah... I-" started Devon, trying to avoid eye contact. He was interrupted by the voice of a man coming from behind the group.

"Jorge, can I speak with you?"

Jorge had just turned when his crew began saying "Ohhh, Jorge is in trouble," and "haha."

"Sure," Jorge responded, his smile starting to die down.

The two began to move to the other side of the classroom as the other students spilled out to lunch. The two fell into silence for awhile before Jorge broke it.

"Is there an issue?"

"Oh no. Well.. first let me address the rules."

Jorge's eyes widened as Mr. Furand began to refer to the wall. He then mutters "...crap... Not this again."

Mr. Furand started reading, "rule number-" Jorge interrupted Mr. Furand and recited the rule by heart.

"Rule number 3: No foul language, peer pressure, or having conversations that don't relate to the class discussion. Yeah, yeah I get it, I remember all of them."

"Then why do you continue to do so? Whatever. Another thing: this essay... it meets all the requirements; right font, correctly-sized paper, amazing grabber, good information... but at the end you were completely off topic. I had to deduct points."

Jorge began losing his patience "Is that all? I have a dodgeball game I need to get to."

"You're a great student. You're one of the most intelligent students in the class, you're creative, and you always have money to purchase writing materials on the spot. But if you keep spouting bull crap on your paper your gonna fail this Marking Period."

Jorge had lost his cool. "This marking period was like a week long! Besides I'm not used to writing this often. Much less on books like these. I mean, what is up with this book? "The Legend of Gaia." What is this crap?"

"You have one last chance to work on this essay. You really deserve 75-80 points for these, but I've been giving you 85's so you can stay on the team. I'm giving you one last chance. Don't BS this... get it done." Jorge grabbed the essay and left, stomping his feet along the way. Realizing the time he ran to the gym where he was greeted by Devon.

Jorge stopped in front of Devon and caught his breath "Yo Headley!"

Devon gave Jorge a reassuring grin. He was happy to see it. "Yo, we're up next.."

"Who else is on the team?" Jorge asked, following his friend into the gym.

"Uh, let's see...Me, Moreno-"

"That's all we need," Jorge interrupted. "speed, accuracy, and the distraction."

"Very , let's go"

"Aaaaaaand...Go!"

Jorge and another player threw the balls straight at the other team. Jorge started to tease the opposing team by running up and dodging balls in the front lines. "Jorge don't, they have Weasley!"

Jorge stops and ran back in fear of getting hit with a dodgeball sooner or later. Weasley was the best dodgeball player in school. He only had to get into the catching position for everybody to run back in fear. Jorge was fast, but Weasley's throws were faster.

Before long everybody on his team was out except for him. If they lost this game, they couldn't participate in the tournament anymore. Couldn't have that on his conscious. "Come at me bro!" he shouted.

"Jorge, what are you doing?"

Jorge put on a smile. "Getting ready to die," he did the first thing he could think of: he gave all but one of his dodgeballs to the opposing team. The team on the opposing side began to hand all their dodgeballs to Weasley. Then Weasley started to throw.

The speed of the balls were unreal, and Jorge could barely dodge them. Jorge knew he wasn't supposed to strain his injuries, but this rush is what made him him. The match soon carried into its minute mark as Jorge felt defeat approaching him. He jumped and dashed but couldn't see an opening or a even a simple chance to catch a ball with the speed they were going. Jorge dodged one last time before falling. His drop made him think more clearly. He began seeing gaps in Weasley's movement. As he could see the flaws in his opponent, Jorge got back up and raised his hand, pointing towards Weasley. "Get ready Weasley!"

"Lets go then!" Weasley started to throw faster balls, so fast Jorge could taste the speed of each throw as they soared past him. But Jorge simply ducked and weaved as if it was a dance. Looking so elegant, Jorge ended his dance by catching a ball,shocking everyone. Even Weasley.

A grin grows on Jorge's face "It's over boys."

As his friend entered the game from the out bench, the two eliminated the rest of their opponents. And the crowd that had formed went wild. "That was amazing!" yelled Devon.

"Calm your Puppy tits boy, it was just a chance thing"

"Are you freaking crazy? That was too amazing, and your throws got way stronger"

Jorge stopped at the sound of this "Wait. What?"

"Yeah man, your throws got way better! They got as great as Moreno's!"

Jorge refused to believe this. Moreno was the second best player ever. "You're lying."

"Nah dude! Your ball had, like, wind following it, man. Some of the guys you hit started to cry!"

"Really? Uh...I gotta go."Jorge got lost in thought "Again with the wind?"

I need to look into this...

==================== WARREN D. FARRIS ======================= "Wow, it's already getting late," Erik declared as the park started to fill with families and fireworks. "You better put that away." He motioned toward the bottle Warren was tossing in the air playfully.

They had been having fun together since Warren told his friend about his ability. Erik would slash the bottle toward Warren, making water spray toward him, but Warren would continue to surprise him by redirecting the stream away from him. Whenever they ran out of water Erik would make a run to the fountain for a refill and Warren would show him a new trick. It seemed like Erik really couldn't get enough of his best friends new skill.

Warren laughed, hearing the worry in his friend's voice. "It's a bottle, man, not a bomb. I can have it out in the open." Still, Warren knew they were done for the day, seeing as the park was starting to fill up so he took the cap and screwed it shut.

"Oh, yeah, duh," he stammered out, feeling foolish for worrying about people seeing a water bottle.

As the moon began to crest in the sky, the first bursts of fireworks could be heard as they streaked through the sky. "Jeez, I hate the Fourth of July," Warren muttered, as he and Erik started walking out of the park. "Never liked fireworks either."

"Then why don't you 'pull a sprinkler' and ruin all this nice fun," Erik joked, trying to coin a new phrase and motioning toward the large group of people watching the fireworks show.

Warren shook his head and playfully punched his friend's shoulder. "You know I wouldn't do that," he started. "Even if I could. Come on, you hungry? I'm sure my mom has dinner ready by now."

"Aren't you guys celebrating the fourth?"

"Nope," Warren declared solemnly. "No money for fireworks this year. What about you? Aren't you guys doing anything special."

"Nah, I said I was celebrating it with you. My parents were cool with it." Erik picked up his pace. "Hurry up I'm starving."

As Warren and Erik walked through the door, Warren's mom, yelled that dinner was ready, and that they were just on time. The two teenagers took off their shoes and headed to the kitchen table, where Becky sat as her mother placed her Safety Silverware -a bunch of dull plastic knives and forks- around her plate.

They took their seats and with a pleading looked asked if they could eat. "Go ahead," Warren's mother said. Overjoyed to hear this, they both dived in and quickly devoured their meal. They had finished their meals before Warren's mom had even sat down to start "Go on you don't have to stay," she said answering the unasked question hovering in the air.

"Thanks mom," Warren said as he pushed his chair in and dropped his plate in the sink. He grabbed Erik and dragged him to his room. "Love you ma," he called out as he closed the door.

Erik moved over to the bed and sat down. "Hey, you have a text," he said tossing Warren's cell across the room. Warren snatched it in mid-air before it hit his face. "Damn, you can control water and you have great reflexes. You must've won the gene pool lottery."

"That doesn't even deserve a response, you know I have the worst luck when it comes to the lottery," he glared at his friend "I can't believe I forgot my phone again." He said as he flipped open the top. "Oh, Kase texted me back."

"Kase who?" Erik asked, surprised he hadn't heard this name before.

"Kase Eskay," Warren explained. "He's a friend that I met online, he lives in Williamsburg, Virginia."

"What are you guys talking about?" Erik moved over to the TV and pressed ON. "Does he know you can play with water?"

"Of course not, you're the only person who knows, I just asked if anything weird had been happening to him."

"And?"

Warren shut his phone and put it in his pocket. "No dice," He sat on the floor and leaned back against his bed, closing his eyes. "Looks like I'm a freak."

Erik moved over and sat next to his friend. "Hey, maybe I'll be able to find something online. Some other people who can do tricks with water."

"I guess it's worth a shot," Warren groaned without much hope. "But we'll probably just get a bunch of viral videos about Sea World."

A small chuckle escaped Erik's lips. "Have some faith, man." Warren had to agree, what he needed right now was a little faith. But where could he get the faith that he so badly needed.

He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling and said the same words again and again. "I'm going to have faith, I'm going to have faith, I'm going to have faith."

"Try putting that in present tense, man," laughed Erik. "It'll work better."

"I know," Warren pushed himself up off the floor and walked toward his laptop. "I was just trying to bug you, Mr. Writer." Pressing the power button, he turned toward his friend. "Now, come on, let's do that research you were talking about."

"Okay, fine with me." Erik sat down in front of the screen and began to work his magic.

==================== MILES J. NOVAK ======================= It was beginning to get dark as Miles and Travis arrived at the edge of the park, hiding behind trees and bushes. "How are we gonna do this?" Travis asked.

Miles observed the area. "Where are they launching the fireworks from?"

It was Travis's turn to look around. "Uh, I think back over there. I think that van was the one carrying the stuff."

Miles nodded and the two boys started to make their way to the van, away from anyone's sight. It was a thrill almost as big as the one they got from discovering they could do extraordinary things with fire and sand. Their steps were masked beneath the talking of the families in the park and the chatting of the two men attending the fireworks themselves.

"...to suggest that we 'talk over the phone.' Heh heh. It'll happen soon enough," said one of the men, taking a sip of a red drink, most likely fruit punch or Gatorade.

Miles and Travis spotted the cache of fireworks, nodding to one another in understanding. They hit the floor in a crawl, ala Solid Snake. As they reached the pile, they stopped dead in their tracks as the other attendant said, "hey go grab the first batch so we can start this thing. It's dark enough."

The two boys just sat there, not moving an inch, as an attendant walked over to the front side of the cache, opposite of them, grabbing some fireworks. "Hey!"

Oh shit, Miles panicked.

"What's your favorite animal?"

The two boys almost sighed in relief. Almost.

"Uh...I dunno. I guess a ram."

"Really? Well mine is..."

His voice was drowned out as Miles and Travis swiped their fireworks and left as quickly as they could. They were laughing by the time they reached their secret spot.

"Oh, damn, that was close!"

"I know! Almost pissed myself," Travis replied. "So, we gonna try these babies out?"

Miles nodded, looking down at the fireworks in his hand. "Hope this works."

Travis lit the firework, and Miles knew he had to hurry. He couldn't take this one slow, or it was gonna fire straight into the air and catch some attention. As the fire sparked, he grabbed the fuse, and, to his relief, it rested on his finger, still sparking. He aimed it at the water, and shot it forward. It was much faster than his fireballs, and caused a big burst even in the water. He smiled, and Travis returned it.

"Now how about when the firework goes off?" Travis asked.

"I...I don't know if I could handle that."

"Well, ya gotta try," said Travis, lighting the next firework. "Alright, so as it launches, try to...I dunno...catch it or something."

"What if it goes off in my face?" Miles demanded, not sure if this idea was a good one.

"If it doesn't seem like you have control, drop it, got it?"

"...Alright, I got it."

The firework blasted off, and Miles extended his arms as fast as he could, managing to grab the rear end of the firework. "Hey I think I-"

Something was wrong. The firework was hot in his hands, and felt like it was about to explode. He quickly let go with a yelp of fear, diving away. The firework launched upwards, but turned a left towards the park. It exploded near a tree, lighting it on fire.

"Shit!" Miles roared, getting to his feet. "Empty your bucket and fill it with water!"

"Right!"

As the two worked together to extinguish the burning tree, drivers passing by started to get down and ask what happened, also assisting in putting out the fire. Soon there were about a dozen people, each one throwing water on the tree in panic, but at least the fire showed signs of stopping.

It all seemed to be going well until one of the tree branches, still lit, cracked and fell, landing on one of the women trying to douse the flames. She screamed in fear.

Miles immediately ran to her and grabbed the entire branch, not feeling anything more than warm tree bark. He twisted around and threw the branch into the edge of the ocean, as he couldn't make it go any farther. The woman, however, still had her clothes burning. Miles didn't want to show random people what he could do, but his secrecy wasn't as important as her safety. He grabbed at different areas of the fire, throwing them into the water like thick twigs. He then clasped the last remaining bit of fire in his two hands, constantly circling his hands around its now-spherical shape. He pushed the big ball of flames outward, far into the ocean. Now exhausted, he fell onto the grass, breathing heavily.

Great...Now these people know what I can do...

==================== JORGE A. REYES ======================= Jorge got home around 5PM in the afternoon. He ate dinner and headed back up to the roof to observe the sun as it set.

"What the hell? What's up with this air crap?"

Jorge stood up and began to kick in random directions in the air, but not a single puff was generated. "Ugh, this is stupid. Maybe I can only do it when I have a ball. Or... I don't know. I'm sure it's all a coincidence. Yeah! I've been kicking balls all my life and I haven't experienced this crap till now. I'm probably just nervous about the season this year... Yeah, that's it."

Jorge kept trying his hardest to convince himself that it was all a fluke, but no matter what he did he would just end up overthinking it to the point where he would start to believe in the air power(s) idea.

"Well, I should probably work on that essay, but class's in a week and I couldn't care less. Nah, I have more important things to do."

Jorge ran down the stairs and before he knew it, he was in his room, looking through his closet for his lucky ball. "Lets see. No...No...Hell no... That's not even mine! Ah ha! There you are!"

Jorge was already heading towards the backyard to see what his small experiment had to offer when his mother and a just-arriving father intervened with his route. "Jorge! Get over here. There's somebody I want you to meet."

Jorge gave a skeptical look towards his parents at first, but shook any emotion he had felt to greet his father. "Dad." Giving his father the cold shoulder.

Jorge's father shook off the disrespect, not sure why Jorge gave it. "Hi, son."

Jorge began to lose patience despite him only being delayed by a few seconds. "Who's this person you want me to meet?"

"She's -"

Jorge's patience began to spew out of him. "Oh crap, is this some type of blind date?"

"No, no," Jorge's father elaborated, "Its nothing like that. I know her father, and well, she's visiting New York for the first time."

Jorge wanted to end this. "Uh well...uh..." He decided to end his stalling. "Where are you headed with this, Dad?"

"Well, I was hoping you'd be her guide. She's gotten lost a few times already and really she could use all the help she can get. Last time she got lost she was stuck in the middle of Bedstuy. She could really use the protection from all the guys who stalk her too."

Jorge became interested. If guys follow her then she must really be something.

"Her father is offering you 50 bucks every three days you take her to hang out."

And with that, Jorge was convinced to do it. He felt somewhat excited about this, but he refused to let go of his posture. Jorge decided it was best to try to rob some info out of his parents before he actually "sealed the deal" by going to meet this chick.

"Alright, where's the little runt?"

"Actually," Jorge's mother started. "She's about your age."

Jorge felt giddy inside, like a pervy virus had entered his bloodstream. But on the outside, he refused to lose his cool. After a few seconds of pondering, Jorge finally gave his answer.

"Sure, I'll do it. I have nothing better to do this week anyway."

Jorge's parents began to smile as they guided him to the living room. Upon laying eyes on her, Jorge's jaw dropped. He was stunned to find out that this "girl" his parents spoke about earlier was the same cute girl he saw at the soccer field.

The girl, Faith, began to blush upon seeing the "crazy soccer guy" again. The room fell into silence.

Days - no - months must have past by with nothing but silence; but everytime Jorge looked at the clock, it had only been a few seconds.

Finally, after a little less than two minutes, Jorge finally said, "Hi, I'm Jorge. I'll be your guide around NYC."

" Привет Jorge, I'm Faith."

The two couldn't take their eyes off of each other, just the fact that they're both in the same room after encountering each other after having seen one another before was amazing to them.

Their soul stare was interrupted by Jorge's parents.

"Well, son, she's staying here in NYC until her father comes in next week. She was going to stay at my house but your little sister had already planned a sleep over weeks before, so she's staying here tonight in Kika's room."

Jorge couldn't help but think: Only one day here? Well, it can't be helped.

His mother snapped him out of his thoughts.

"And I need to head to the market. Watch your little brother while I'm gone. Oh, and Faith, feel free to kick Jorge's butt if he starts acting pervy-"

Jorge snapped when he heard this. "Mom!"

"What?"

"Stop walking around giving people the wrong idea!"

The whole room filled with laughter; everyone but Jorge anyway.

"Whatever, I'm going outside; Eli's asleep."

"I'll join you." Faith said, standing up.

"You sure?" Jorge would rather she stayed inside. There was no telling what might happen to a girl like her outside.

Faith let out a really big smile "Yeah, it's only natural that a girl would want to get to know her guide."

==================== MILES J. NOVAK ======================= "Did you just...take the fire off of her?" asked one of the bystanders staring in disbelief at Miles. Travis stood off to the side, worried about how this would go.

"Uh, no...no I..." Miles struggled to explain. Ah, shit how do I get outta this? "I...see I covered my hands in water and...and that made it so the fire didn't hurt me. Uh...Google it...it's a real technique...in China."

Travis's head fell into his waiting palm. Miles groaned. Dammit.

To add more into their pile of difficulties, the park rangers soon arrived in their cars, the sirens going off. They quickly made their way to the scene. "We got a fire alert. Is everyone alright?"

Most of the crowd nodded and some replied verbally, answering questions from the park ranger. Miles walked over to Travis in the middle of the talking, the two trying to leave the place.

"Dude they saw you with the fire-"

"I know! Shit! I...I couldn't just let her burn!"

"It's alright, dude, you did the right thing. But we gotta get outta here."

"Right."

The two returned to Miles's house as the fireworks display also ended. They sat in his room, trying to think about what they could do. Miles was sitting on his bed, tossing a fireball back and forth. Travis kept tapping his foot on the floor.

"Did you recognize anyone in the crowd?" asked Travis. "Like, someone who would remember-"

Miles nodded, cutting him off. "Yeah, I think so. Amy. She was in my Chem class."

Travis sighed, reaching for the television remote. As the TV turned on, he flipped through the channels. Miles doused the fireball and started to look for something else to pass the time. He walked over to his shelf and looked at his decorative figurines. He had a whole collection from his favorite video game, including Mr. Virus, Kyorren, Uthma, and Galocke. They still didn't distract him enough.

"Uh, dude," Travis said. "You're on the news..."

"What?" asked Miles in disbelief. He looked to the television and, sure enough, there was video footage of him throwing the flames into the ocean. Someone had managed to record the scene with their phone, and now the whole state would soon know about him.

"Ah, shit!" Miles yelled, pacing around the room. "What do you think is gonna happen to me?"

Travis was still staring at the TV. "Looks like the LAPD are looking for you. Probably for questioning."

"Miles!" roared his dad from downstairs. "Get down here!"

Miles and Travis exchanged worried glances. "Dude, we have to leave."

"What?"

"We can sneak out your window, and I can drive. C'mon!"

"Travis, what the hell do you mean leave?"

"Dude, the entire state of California knows who you are right now, and that you can touch fire without getting hurt! The LAPD is looking for you! We need to get you out of here!"

"You're crazy!"

"So are these weird...powers we have!"

Travis had a point, and Miles did fear what would happen if he was dealing with the LAPD themselves. Would they run tests on him? Would he be banned from going near people? Were they going to charge him for setting the tree on fire and stealing fireworks?

"O...okay. Okay, let's go."

Travis nodded, opening the window and grabbing his backpack. Miles quickly filled his with what he believed he would need.

"Miles!" his dad yelled again. "Miles, I'm coming up there!"

"Go!" said Miles, pushing Travis forward. The two boys quickly dropped down to the front yard and got to Travis's car. Miles's parents opened the front door, trying to stop them from leaving. It was painful for him to leave so suddenly, but he believed he would have to do it.

"Where are we going?" Miles finally asked without any emotion.

"North to Oregon."

"Why Oregon? Why not Nevada or something?"

Travis slowly shook his head. "I...I don't know. I have this weird feeling that we should go north for some reason. Instinct, I guess."

"Well, your instincts didn't get you caught on TV. Lead the way."

==================== JORGE A. REYES ======================= Jorge tucked his baby brother in; even though he's adopted, Jorge loved him more than anything. There was nothing like a smile from a baby that filled his heart with joy. After making sure his brother was asleep, he guided faith towards the backyard.

Jorge dropped the ball and began to dribble it."Hey, you play soccer?"

Faith looked up; she was still blushing a bit but quickly shook it off. "No, well, not often anyway."

"You any good?"

Faith brought back that smile she wore earlier, "Haha no."

Jorge smiled and passed the ball. It went a little faster than he wanted it to, causing him to jump in fear. "Woah! watch out"

Jorge leaped out to stop the runaway ball; next thing he knew the ball was spinning in mid-air, with both jorge and faith's hands focused towards the ball.

"Okay.. so it wasn't just me. I can control air!"

While jorge watched in amazement, faith starred with bulging eyes.

"Oh my gosh," Faith yelled "How are you doing that?!"

Faith brought her hand down slowly, this seemed to affect the ball's height. Upon noticing she raised her hand again. Jorge smile brightened at the prospect of him 'controlling' air. It didn't hurt that his friend could do it too. "Me?! Looks like this is a team effort sister."

"You sure?" faith's voice sounded unsure. "If you're messing with me I sw-"

Jorge intervened "How is this a trick?" Jorge started to lower his hands and the ball losted speed.

"Yep. This is definitely the both of us.."

Jorge and faith practiced for another hour before going back inside to check on the baby.

Faith connected her laptop to the flat screen television, clicked the red button on the remote, and went straight to her email account. She clicked the first message she got and was redirected to a video.

"HOLY CRAP!"

The mere utter of these words stopped both jorge and faith; who then focused their attention towards the screen.

"A kid was recorded 'controlling' fire! This video was taken by a pedestrian who was in the vicinity at the time"

Jorge and faith watched carefully as this kid no older than the two started ripping fire from a woman's body, tossing the pieces into the ocean.

"Holy crap" Faith uttered.

"Yeah.. we're not alone."

"And we're the weakest of them; aren't we?"

Jorge blew a puff of air from his hand. But it didn't last long.

"Yeah... we are."

==================== WARREN D. FARRIS ======================= "See, Cybergod!" Erik proudly declared. They had just finished watching a viral video of some kid in california throwing flames off of a woman. Warren couldn't help feeling admiration for the kid, he was actually doing something, if he really had the same kind of power. "Who's the man!?"

"Stop making so much noise, you sound cocky." Warren reached over and closed the laptop, attempting to cut off Erik's belief that he had god-like powers with it. "Besides, you just found it on Youtube."

"Sure, but i found it like that," he said, snapping his fingers for emphasis. He spun on Warren's wheely chair, making a full turn before stopping in front of Warren. "So, there seems to be more freaky stuff going on, you're not the only weirdo, Farris."

Warren started to feel lightheaded, he moved over to his bed and laid down. "What do we do now?"

Erik moved across the room and turned off the lights. Warren could hear him make his bed on the floor, moving the blanket onto the carpet, a pillow shifting in the darkness, and finally another blanket draped over his body to stay warm.

A long silence followed, it was soothing, like in this wordless moment he could forget about all his problems and just be a normal teenager. But, deep inside him there was a part that didn't want to be a normal teen. I could do what that guy did, He couldn't help thinking. I could help people, I can do things that others can't.

"Hey, Farris?" Erik's voice came through the darkness of the room, breaking his concentration and disrupting his thoughts.

"Yeah, what is it?" He was starting to have a hard time staying conscious, so each word was a trial to get out.

"Do you have any plans for your B-day on the 14th?" Erik's energy level didn't seem any lower then it had when they were at the park. Warren couldn't help but wonder how he was so much more awake then he was.

"Nope." He just barely slurred out.

"That settles it then," His best friend said, excitedly. "I'm taking you to the beach." Warren let out a few groans of argument at hearing this. He wasn't the biggest fan of the beach, he always felt like he left with half the beach in his shorts. "Hey, think of it this way, lots of water for your cool tricks, and a bunch of hotties in bikinis."

"Whatever." Warren responded simply because he was too tired to argue. And before he could hear any more of Erik's late night tirades he passed out.

"Warren!" A booming voice called to Warren from behind his head. He turned and saw a small feminine frame wrapped up in a blanket. He approached the shivering figure and, extending a hand, crouched down to be closer to its eye level.

"Hello, are you okay?" He asked, gradually leaning closer to the prone figure. "Miss?" A voice came from the girl in a language Warren couldn't understand. "I'm sorry, I can't understand you."

All of a sudden the girl sat up, letting the blanket fall around her shoulders, and revealed herself. But Warren certainly wasn't expecting this. Warren fell backwards onto his behind as he came face to face with the skull of, what must've been a small girl, judging by the hair still barely attached to what was left of her scalp.

Warren tried to scream, but his lips refused to move, more like, he couldn't seem to remember how to move them. "You will listen to me," the booming voice was back and seemed to be coming from the skeleton. "You will obey me, you will heed my every command, you are no better than a worm compared to me!"

The skeleton reached out for Warren's face, but he quickly backed out of its reach. The more distance he put between himself and the skeleton the easier it seemed for him to keep a clear head. He got on his feet and continued to back away. The skeleton dragged itself after him, the blanket slowly slithering along. Warren tried turning away and running but he could only barely focus on keeping his legs moving as it was.

The terrifying figure opened its jaw and released a terrifying roar that stopped every muscle in Warren's body. He collapsed on the ground and had to force himself to breathe again. "You are mine!" As the skeleton's bony fingers began to lower onto Warren's prone form, a light enveloped the room.

"Farris, you okay?" Warren opened his eyes and saw Erik shaking him awake. "You alright, it seemed like you were having a pretty scary dream. You're tossing and turning woke me up."

"What time is it?" Warren asked the first thing that came to mind, not: "Hey, what's it mean when you're being chased by a decomposing skeleton in your dreams?" but really, who can say which is the better question?

Erik reached over and picked up the watch he had placed on the table. "It's 2 AM, we went to bed 4 hours ago, and I plan on sleeping another 6, good night and sweet dreams." Erik turned the lights off and laid back down on his makeshift bed.

Warren closed his eyes and tried to think of good thoughts. Good, evil decomposing skeleton-ess thoughts.

I'm not getting any sleep tonight...

==================== MILES J. NOVAK ======================= "Hey Miles, you sleeping?" Travis asked, glancing at his friend in the passenger seat.

"Trying to. Not working very well."

"Well we just passed Eureka, so we're almost at the Oregon border."

"We're making great time," Miles said without enthusiasm. "What's there to do in Oregon?"

Travis chuckled. "Not sure; never been there."

Miles pulled out his lighter and uncapped it. Travis sighed.

"You really gonna light that in here?"

"It's fine, man, I've got it under control." To drive his point home, he flicked the light on and pulled the fire to his hand a few inches away, without having to touch it. Miles put the lighter back into his pocket and twirled the fire in his hands, mesmerized by the movements like he'd always been. "You think there are any other people like us?"

Travis shrugged, eyes still locked on the dark road ahead of him. "Maybe. I hope so, actually. Would be pretty neat, right?"

"Yeah, that'd be dope." Miles extinguished the flame and yawned. "You know I really hate walnuts? They're my least favorite. Cashews, on the other hand...Those are great."

"Dude you talk about the most random shit..."

Miles couldn't help but grin. "Need a little stress relief right now. Alright, well, I'ma try to get some sleep. Wake me up when it's my turn to drive."

"Aight, hothead. Night."

"Night."


End file.
